At an online signing ceremony held in Kunming and Beijing on Friday, China’s Yunnan Academy of Agricultural Sciences (YAAS) and Pakistan Agricultural Research Council (PARC) inked a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to enhance agricultural cooperation between China and Pakistan.
Dr Wang Jihua, President of YAAS, spoke at the occasion and stated that years of collaboration between YAAS and PARC had brought successful outcomes in the fields of wheat, potato, sugarcane, banana, and plant protection.
“Effective information exchange in desert locust early warning and prevention, as well as joint research on wheat disease and breeding,” Wang said, “have become good examples of China-Pakistan sci-tech collaboration.”
Highlighting the benefits of bilateral collaboration, Pakistan’s Ambassador to China Moinul Haque stated that it was pleasing to see Chinese knowledge. And expertise contribute to enhancing crop productivity, plant protection, and pest management in Pakistan.
“We are really thankful to China for assisting us last year with locust prevention. And the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Areas of China has also provided us with special drones. To assist us with plant protection and pest management,” Haque added.
The ambassador hoped that future collaboration between the two institutions will strengthen the skills of Pakistani scientists, researchers, and institutions. As well as contribute to increased crop yields by enhancing plant protection and pest management.
As part of the agreement, both parties will endeavor to establish a collaborative agricultural research center lab and increase cross-border agricultural pest research, cultivation, and scientific and technological training.
It should be emphasized that the arrangement is an extension of YAAS and PARC’s 2014 collaboration.
Haque met virtually a few months ago with Professor Deng Xiuxin, Vice President of the Chinese Academy of Engineering. And their Pakistani counterpart, Dr. Iqrar Ahmad Khan, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Agriculture, Faisalabad.
“Pakistan is eager to learn from Chinese experience and expertise for modernising the agriculture sector. With a focus on corporate farming, new seed development for increasing crop yield. And the introduction of new varieties of agricultural products. The establishment of agro-industry, and the establishment of a cold chain network,” Haque stated during the meeting.
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